42 Years ago, some person though they had the way to get rid of a dead whale that washed up... From the Eugene Register-Guard the next day:"The beach erupted in a 100-foot high column of sand and whale. Chunks of the animal flew in every direction and spectators began to scream and run for cover when they glimpsed the large pieces soaring directly overhead.

No one was hit, but a piece about three feet long caved in the top of a late-model car in a South Jetty Road parking lot.

Walter Umenhofer, a Springfield businessman, stood in the middle of a crowd around his damaged car and ruefully watched a hard-hatted highway worker remove the piece of blubber with a shovel."

I discovered this video and story sometime around 1998 and was amazed. It's stunning how often people make bad choices, but a few tons of rotting whale and dynamite are sure to illustrate the point. Good memories, thank you.

Showed it to my daughter last night. She thought it was the funniest thing she'd ever seen. The descriptions in the news articles got bigger laughs out of her than the video. The thought of people screaming and running for cover from a barrage of flying whale meat just cracked her up.

I first heard about this in a newspaper column by humorist Dave Barry many years ago. He said that a reader had sent him a video of the incident and that it was "glorious."

Apparently the demolition was performed by the Oregon state highway department. Barry wondered in his column how they got the gig, and surmised that it must've fallen under their jurisdiction because "whales and highways are both large."

:smile:One of the finest confirmations at Snopes.com. And a great video.

The first thing I ever saw on YouTube....LMAO!

Logged

If it's true what they say, that GOD created us in His image, then why should we not love creating, and why should we not continue to do so, as carefully and ethically as we can, on whatever scale we're capable of?

The choice is simple; refuse to create, and refuse to grow, or build, with care and love.

You can see all the damage done to vehicles in the area from the explosion. I'd like to know how their owners explained what happen to their insurance company.

I know!I treat it like a Bob Newhart phone routine..."Hello? Hello is this New Brunswick insurance? Oh, good. Uh, my name is Phil Collins...yea, like the singer- and I need to talk to someone about my car. Well, it's a funny story (Heh) and uh...Have you been watching the news lately? Oh, you've been busy. Wow, that could be really inconvieniant..."